WouldJew Believe #31

Interesting and odd Jewish facts including the first Jewish gold medalist of the 2012 London games.

I’m sure you’re aware of the recent Cologne Germany court ruling that non-medical circumcision of a minor is a criminal act. While it doesn’t apply to other districts, Berlin hospitals have been turning away parents until legal clarity has been reached

Now mamalas, if you’ve ever read my columns you know I’m a sucker for irony. However, this particular irony isn’t in the least bit funny. The uber irony takes chutzpah to the 100th “Power.”

The nudnik handling German PR should be switched to sausage stuffing.

Germany’s reasons? Holm Putzke, a professor of criminal law at the University of Passau who has argued for the ban said that he hoped the ruling would prompt a discussion about "what should be given more weight -- religious freedom or the right of children not to have their genitals mutilated." Officials have also pointed to a young boy who had some bleeding after being circumsized. The chairman of the Secular Medical Forum, Dr. Antony Lempert, said "We urge you not to let such emotional blackmail (petitions in opposition have been circulated worldwide, along with truly rotten press) persuade you to change the law or criticise the court's decision.” Still others have pointed to the psychic “trauma and harm to the child” of the ritual, and claim this is not anti-Semitism.

Fortunately, due the outcry (and yes, more than a few references to the Holocaust) German Chancellor Angela Merkel has warned that Germany could become a laughing stock if it fails to overturn the ban.

The ban probably won’t win, but the nudnik handling their PR should be switched to sausage stuffing.

NAZI NEWSFLASH!

Infamous Nazi “alleged” war criminal, Laszlo Csatary, who served during World War II as a senior Hungarian police officer in Kosice, then under Hungarian rule, is accused of being complicit in deporting almost 16,000 Jews from Nazi-occupied Czechoslovakia in early 1944

to Auschwitz, which cost them their lives. In 1948, a Czech court condemned him to death after a trial held in his absence, as he had fled to Canada, working as an art dealer using a false identity before being unmasked in 1995 and forced to flee. Yet, hiding out in Budapest, the 97-year-old eluded justice for 70 years, and was finally “unmasked” by The Sun, acting on information released last September by the Weisenthal Centre. When its reporters confronted him on his doorstep, he denied any crimes and slammed the door in their faces, the paper reported.

A Hungarian prosecutor said that investigating an aged Nazi war criminal found “alive and well” in Budapest was problematic because the events took place so long ago and in a different country.

To the Sun reporter, however, time did not diminish Csatary’s guilt.

KOSHER KAFFEINATION

Hear “let’s go for coffee” and what you think of? Starbucks! It’s the mega-java miracle idea that’s turned what was once a humble brew into a five-star gourmet libation. But like good Jews the first question that we have to ask is “Is it kosher?” Well the leading amateur anywhere on the subject of Kosher Kaffeination (my term) is Uri Ort, a 26-year-old Orthodox Jew who lives on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, and runs kosherstarbucks.com. His site tells us what products Jews may consume at Starbucks without risking a treif mistake.

Coffee beans and hot water are kosher. The kink here is that Starbucks offers other items, such as breakfast sandwiches with ham, and flavored coffees. So we have the “treif tainting” problem as kosher laws dictate that dishes can also obtain the status of non-kosher.

To sort these complicated matters, Ort started a Web site to guide us through “treif vs. kosher” at America’s favorite coffee house by marking Starbucks products with a green or red light. The Frappuccinos-- red lights. The Tazo teas -- green lights. Hot chocolate -- green light (but white hot chocolate, red light.) The Vivanno smoothie? It depends on the flavor. Mocha drizzle on top — yes! Caramel drizzle, no. Yes to whipped cream.

Surprisingly, the Eggnog Latte is okay, (though he recommends checking the eggnog certification).

Colette Avital, chairperson of Israel's leading Holocaust survivors' umbrella group and a former Member of Parliament thought it was “macabre." She said: “I am in favor of enriching lives, but a one-time pageant masquerading (survivors) with beautiful clothes is not what is going to make their lives more meaningful." She also took issue with the contest sponsor, a cosmetics company pushing its products. Other naysayers wondered what sort of precedent was being set by the pageant. "This is one step short of 'Survivor-Holocaust' or 'Big Brother Auschwitz'," wrote an influential Israeli blogger. Organizer Shimon Sabag, who heads a charity that helps Holocaust survivors in need, disagrees, pointing out that appearance was only about 10 percent of the overall score when compared with their stories of survival. Naysayers said “beauty” shouldn't have been considered at all.

The finalists did share their survival stories as they were judged by of three former beauty queens and a geriatric psychiatrist. Taking home the tiara was 78-year-old Hava Hershkovitz, who suffered three years of severe hardship at a Soviet detention camp. “It puts us at the centre of attention so people will care," she said. "It's not easy at this age to be in a beauty contest, but we're all doing it to show that we're still here."

Uplifting or Upsetting? You Be the Judge.

MAZEL TOV TO ALY RAISMAN! A JEWISH OLYMPIAN

Aly Raisman, captain of The Fab Five in U.S. gymnastics, was the last competitor in the floor exercise, the final obstacle between them and gold!

American and particularly Jewish Americans held their collective breath as Jewish gymnast, Raisman nailed it, with 75 seconds of an almost flawless performance that brought her team in first place for the all-around women’s gymnastics at the 2012 London Olympics.

More, she won it to the tune of “Hava Nagila!” A song she chose because of its excitement and to show her Jewish pride. Said Raisman, “It’s a huge honor to be the first Jewish gold medalist of the 2012 London Games.” Her victory continued the Jewish Midas Touch established by Kerri Strug in the 1996 Atlanta Olympics.

When I interviewed Kerri’s mom, Melanie, in my book “Yiddishe Mamas: The Truth About the Jewish Mother” (shameful promotion), she strongly emphasized the fact that you can’t be an athlete your whole life: “School was always number one with us. Gymnastics was not going to be her future.” Kerri went on to get her MS Degree from Stanford. A Jewish kid who can run, jump, leap … and beat a strange horse with no head?

Featured at Aish.com:

About the Author

Quirky, no-nonsense, funny, Marnie – writer, editor, author, lecturer, clinician, and administrator -- is a straight-shooter, who has a distinctive voice and takes on the world in her columns, features, and books. Her advice column was syndicated through Tribune Media Services, and it currently appears in Singular magazine as Singular Solutions. Marnie has written over 20 books/calendars, including the series “A Little Joy, A Little Oy." Her books include Yiddishe Mamas: The Truth About the Jewish Mother and A Little Joy, A Little Oy (pub. AndrewsMcMeel). She is also an award-winning “calendar queen” having written over 20. She has been nominated for both an Emmy and Writers Guild award.Thefullwiki.org has listed Marnie Macauley on their list of top Jewish_American writers, dead or living. (She’s still deciding which.) She was also chosen as a Distinguished Woman in Las Vegas in March of 2014.

The opinions expressed in the comment section are the personal views of the commenters. Comments are moderated, so please keep it civil.

Visitor Comments: 7

(3)
Shaindy,
August 14, 2012 10:25 PM

The comment by the pageant organiser really bothered me: "appearance was only about 10 percent of the overall score when compared with their stories of survival". So what, you were judging them on who had it the worst during the Holocaust? That's just sick.

marnie, the author,
August 15, 2012 6:16 PM

I agree ... 10 per cent???

Plus, I, too, wondered if only 10 per cent "counted" then why were three beauty queens and a shrink the judges?
Shalom with love, Marnie

(2)
Gary Katz,
August 14, 2012 5:28 PM

Small observation as to the first item

That German professor sure has an ironic name.

Marnie, the author,
August 15, 2012 1:19 AM

LOLOLOL

and so appropriate! :)
Shalom with love, Marnie

sidney,
August 15, 2012 4:54 AM

....ditto the comment on the German Profs name...

...ditto that...I am sure he is aware of that irony himself...don't you think - probably hates it? ....unquestionably all pure anti-semitism.... this is surprising in Deutschland?????

(1)
Anonymous,
August 14, 2012 1:15 PM

miss holocaust survivor contest

I do not think that the Shoah murdered victims would have expected survivors to honor their memory in that shameful and undignified manner.

Anonymous,
August 15, 2012 6:19 PM

agreed.

You'd think with all of the Yiddishe kops ... someone could come up with a theme that would both celebrate survival, but also entertain with class.
Shalom with love, Marnie

I want to know about the concept of "sin" due to Adam and Eve eating from the Tree of Knowledge. The Christian concept of sin revolves around the fall of the man and the "original sin." Does Judaism view it the same way?

The Aish Rabbi Replies:

Adam and Eve were punished according to their actions. In other words, God laid down the conditions for Adam and Eve to live in the garden, provided they would not eat from the Tree of Knowledge. However, if they were to eat from that tree they would be punished by experiencing death. (If they had not eaten from the tree, they would have remained immortal.)

This sets down the basic principle in Judaism of Reward and Punishment. Basic to this is that every person has the choice of doing good or bad. When a person chooses "good" – as defined by God – he is able to draw close to God. In other words, every individual has a chance to "gain salvation" through his own actions.

My understanding of Christianity, however, is that the Original Sin has infected all of mankind to the point where individuals are incapable of achieving salvation through their own initiative. Man is "totally depraved" and therefore his only hope of salvation is through the cross.

This belief is contrary to the teachings of Judaism. From the Torah perspective, an individual does not need to rely on anyone else to atone for them. In Judaism, sins can be "erased" altogether by sincere repentance and a firm resolution never to repeat the mistakes.

For more on this, read "Their Hollow Inheritances" by Michael Drazin – www.drazin.com

Yahrtzeit of Moses in 1273 BCE (Jewish year 2488), on the same day of his birth 120 years earlier. (Consequently, "May you live to 120" has become a common Jewish blessing.) Moses was born in Egypt at a time when Pharaoh had decreed that all Jewish baby boys be drowned in the Nile River. His mother set him afloat in a reed basket, where he was -- most ironically -- discovered by Pharaoh's daughter and brought to Pharaoh's palace to be raised. When Moses matured, his heart turned to aid the Jewish people; he killed an Egyptian who was beating a Jew, and he fled to Midian where he married and had two sons. God spoke to Moses at the Burning Bush, instructing him to return to Egypt and persuade Pharaoh to "let My people go." Moses led the Jews through the ten plagues, the Exodus, and the splitting of the Red Sea. Seven weeks later, the Jews arrived at Mount Sinai and received the Torah, the only time in human history that an entire nation experienced Divine revelation. Over the next 40 years, Moses led the Jews through wanderings in the desert, and supervised construction of the Tabernacle. Moses died before being allowed to enter the promised Land of Israel. He is regarded as the greatest prophet of all time.

Lack of gratitude is at the root of discontent. In order to be consistently serene, we must master the attribute of being grateful to the Creator for all His gifts. As the Torah (Deuteronomy 26:11) states, "Rejoice with all the good the Almighty has given you." This does not negate our wanting more. But it does mean that we have a constant feeling of gratitude since as long as we are alive, we always have a list of things for which to be grateful.

[Just before Moses' death] God said to him, "This is the Land that I promised to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob" (Deuteronomy 34:4).

The Midrash says that Moses pleaded to live long enough to be able to enter the Promised Land. He surrendered his soul only after God instructed him to enter Heaven and inform the Patriarchs that the Israelites had come to their Land and that God had indeed fulfilled His promise to give the Land of Israel to their descendants. To fulfill God's will was dearer to Moses than his craving to enter the Land.

It is only natural to cling to life, and the thought of leaving this world is depressing. However, if a person develops the attitude that he lives only in order to fulfill God's will, then life and death are no longer polar opposites, because he lives to do the will of God, and when that will requires that he leave this world, he will be equally obedient.

The seventh day of Adar is the anniversary of Moses' death. He wanted to enter the Promised Land so that he could fulfill the commandments and thereby have a new opportunity to fulfill the Divine wish. He surrendered his soul willingly when he was told that there was a special commandment for him to perform, one that could only be achieved after leaving this earth.

We refer to Moses as Rabbeinu, our teacher. He not only taught us didactically, but by means of everything he did in his life - and by his death, as well.

Today I shall...

try to dedicate my life to fulfilling the will of God, so that even when that will contradicts my personal desires, I can accept it with serenity.

With stories and insights,
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